Using the right cookware can prevent many problems, such as uneven cooking or extended cooking times. Using the proper pots and pans will reduce cooking times and cook food more evenly.

Using the Proper Cookware

Check for flatness by rotating a ruler across the bottom of the cookware.

Correct

Flat bottom and straight sides

Tight fitting lids

Weight of the handle does not tilt the pan

Pan is well balanced

Pan size matches the amount of food to be prepared and the size of the surface element

Made of a material that conducts heat well

Always match the pot diameter to the element surface diameter

Incorrect

Curved and warped pan bottoms

Pan overhands element by more than a half inch

Pan is smaller than element

Heavy handle tilts pan

Choosing the Proper Cookware

What your cookware is made of determines how evenly and quickly heat is transferred from the surface element to the pan bottom.

ALUMINUM - Excellent heat conductor. Some types of food will cause the aluminum to darken (Anodized aluminum cookware resists staining and pitting). If aluminum pans are slid across the ceramic cooktop, they may leave metal marks that resemble scratches. Remove these marks as soon as the cooktop cools down.